The Yale Medications Development Research Center (YMDRC) Core supports centralized coordination for projects representing six research themes, for interdisciplinary collaboration, and for training opportunities. The six drug treatment themes are: 1. inpatient human laboratory evaluations to predict pharmacotherapeutic efficacy, 2. pharmacokinetic assessments including interactions of new medications with abused drugs such as cocaine, 3. evaluations of abuse liability and performance effects of new treatment, 4. outpatient trials of pharmacological efficacy, 5. outpatient trials of combined behavioral and pharmacological treatments, 6. special target group studies of female substance abusers. These themes are embodied in 9 research projects that involve extensive interdisciplinary collaboration among psychiatry, psychology, pharmacology, laboratory medicine, nuclear medicine and health care economics. During the last 4 years of our Treatment Research Unit (TRU) we have generated 19 independently funded research grants including career awards and provided extensive training opportunities in drug abuse psychopharmacology for medical students, psychiatry residents, fellows and junior faculty. In addition, the TRU has been extremely productive with over 700 patients involved in over 30 research protocols resulting in over 50 papers and chapters and 60 presentations at professional meetings.